Hi, We are looking at doing some camping, but we want so advice on tents? We are a family of 5 (2 adults and 3 kids aged 10,4,2).We want to know what tent is best for families?Also any other advice that anyone could give us on camping (ie camping equipement) would be grateful. Thank you Harv's

Have a look through the 'Gear guide' forum. You'll find heaps of info there on all sorts of equipment. 'Show us your campsite' may also interest you, to see how others do it.

I think there is also a checklist floating around somewhere that members have contributed to. Can't remember where I saw it though.

There are as many set-ups as there are campers, I believe! Your 10yo might enjoy having his own tent? You can buy a little 2 person dome for very little money these days. They're usually easy enough to set up for a 10yo too, I would think.

There's heaps of great family tents on the market these days. You probably want one with separate rooms for you and the kids. I can highly recommend the Coleman tents, but I know others rave as much about other brand tents.

It's a lot of trial and error when you start out camping. You will learn a lot from checking out your neighbours' set ups too!

So far as tents are concerned, I have a Black Wolf which is an easy setup and a great tent. If you're in Sydney, I'd check out Kangaroo Tent City, and yes, the gear guide within this forum is excellent.

Welcome Harvs,lots of info on here, there is a post about first time campers and the best things to start off with,it was some time ago if i can find it i will give you the url also of course depends on the budget but in saying that and i think others will agree, buy the best you can afford or you will be forever replacing things and i think most of it roughed it for a while then as you see other peoples set ups you get the idea of what you would like.Easter is coming up and lots of camping places have good specials at that time.

It all depends on your budget and how much room you have to carry all your camping gear. If you have the room and budget I would go for a canvas two room tent.

We started out with an Oztrail Oddessy double dome tent which was great but with the wind and rain it always seemed to snap one of the geopoles so we were always replacing them. If you get a tent get one with metal frame rather than the geopoles.

Not sure where you are in Oz but the Sydney show in April would be worth a look as it has everything from tents to caravans and everything in between and heaps of people you can talk to for all sorts of info.

I have found this forum is a godsend and there is a huge wealth of knowledge from all over this country....just ask

just to confuse you i find that some campers including myself have a couple of different tents depending on the location and the length of time we camp and whether we we just take the car or we have a trailer with us.there is a big difference in the size of some tents when packed up.

For overnighters to 2 night camps i love to take our 1 room dome tent and we all squeaze in together but its fun and then on longer camps we take our 3 room dome tent,takes longer to put up but more room,kids up 1 end us up the other and food and bits and pieces in the middle.I personally dont have expensive tents as such based on the fact that family factors change,ie kids get bigger,they do want to share the room with you when small but then like to have their own little section when they are a bit older and now my 11 yr old erects his own pup tent.

"it always seemed to snap one of the geopoles so we were always replacing them. If you get a tent get one with metal frame rather than the geopoles."

Is a geopole one of the ordinary bendable dome tent poles? If so, I have never had one break in all my years of camping... I don't very often camp in wind and rain, but definitely have done so. My Black Wolf annex will completely collapse in strong wind if I haven't secured the guy ropes. My Coleman however, stays upright even without ropes!

We also have a few different tents, but not expensive ones, we prefer the canvas tourer tents, very easy to erect and they come in two sizes. May be worth considering getting 2 tents, your ten year old may appreciate own tent. We recently purchased the Malamoo 3 second tent for 16 yo son (instant pop up stype) great for one person or squeeze 2 in for a quick overnighter. The malamoo tent survived a night of wind and rain without getting any wetness inside.

Hi Harvs,,, I totally agree...buy the best you can afford......nothing worse than having gear failure, just for the sake of a few pennies ....providing its with in your budget.I'm a great believer in 'Tarps' (..if you haven't noticed...lol)...They serve a number of good benifits.....Extra protection from the rain & branches falling from trees plus helps keep the heat off your tent in summer....and a BIG plus, when you live here in Qld....it means if it does start raining....atleast you can pack up under cover....(nothing worse than having to go home & dry out all your gear)...We started with canvas tents....moved to nylon when we moved to AUSSIE...mainly because they were so lite to carry...and cheapo......Living here in Qld,,,,we have moved back to canvas tents because of there durability and extra strenght in the rain & winds.....but thats just us....We have friends that have bought the Blackwolf tents and they speak very highly of them.I could go on for hours on the what you need ..but really its something that you will learn as you go camping....talk to other campers....look at what they have and ask questions....my latest ''fetish'' is getting into this 'camp oven' cooking (dutch oven to some)...and I'm really enjoying it....I do most of the cooking when we are away to give Avis a break....so I'm getting together a few 'pots' etc...all takes room in the trailer, which is another thing on its own....only take what you can carry....its cost me a BIGGER trailer.plus...plus

Cheers & most importantly....ENJOY your time out there

Roscopic of packing up in the rain...NSW...this time...lol

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